Body Armor

Today I read a news article about a person was picked up by LEO's
One of the supposed charges was for being in possession of body armor.
I have never heard of that being a crime by itself. But perhaps if used while committing a crime then its a NO NO??

I ask the internet / forum board guru's to impasse upon me knowledge.

"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship.
Alexander Fraser Tytler

I believe that civilians can only have certain levels of armor - owning the better levels or grades is reserved for law enforcement. Owning or wearing the type reserved for law enforcement might be a crime. But I really do not know. I believe most (if not all) of the gun laws are insane and need to be repealed.

You can purchase and use any type that you want, legally, unless you use it to commit a crime. (see below)

If you are a felon, that is a different story. A felony conviction makes possession of Body Armor illegal under federal law.

Florida law states:
775.0846 Possession of bulletproof vest while committing certain offenses.
(1) As used in this section, the term "bulletproof vest" means a bullet-resistant soft body armor providing, as a minimum standard, the level of protection known as "threat level I," which shall mean at least seven layers of bullet-resistant material providing protection from three shots of 158-grain lead ammunition fired from a .38 caliber handgun at a velocity of 850 feet per second.

(2) No person may possess a bulletproof vest while, acting alone or with one or more other persons, he or she commits or attempts to commit any murder, sexual battery, robbery, burglary, arson, aggravated assault, aggravated battery, kidnapping, escape, breaking and entering with intent to commit a felony, criminal gang-related offense under chapter 874, controlled substance offense under chapter 893, or aircraft piracy and such possession is in the course of and in furtherance of any such crime.

(3) Any person who violates this section commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.

not to hijack the thread, but could you wear body armor on a plane? Imagine the TSA checkpoint?

Interesting question!

For handgun protection it is important to know that Level II-A, Level II and Level III-A all stop the overwhelming majority of PISTOL projectiles you are ever likely to encounter (plus 12 gauge, OO buckshot), and also to know that NO vest is ever 100% ‘bulletproof’ under ALL conceivable circumstances.

There is always a tradeoff between more protection and wear-ability or concealability - so the level of protection chosen is a personal choice. Better to get a lower protection level that you will wear consistently, than the highest protection that isn't worn! The best vest for you is the one you are actually wearing when shot!

Level II-A might be the best choice if thinness, comfort and concealability are the most important factors, e.g., if wearing for long periods, or with a lot of movement.

Level II is often worn by police officers. A great balance between blunt trauma protection, versus cost, and thickness / concealability / comfort.

Level III-A is a little thicker, stiffer, heavier and more expensive, but will stop more of the uncommon pistol threats, for example, it is tested for 9mm sub-machine-gun and .44 Magnum. Plus it gives you more blunt trauma impact protection – possibly better to return fire in a gunfight.

Stab-Resistant vests are available, but generally not recommend unless you work in a jail or prison where there is a significant knife/shank threat. Stab-Resistance makes the vest a little heavier and thicker and significantly stiffer, and therefore less comfortable and concealable.

Secondly a regular ballistic vest does offer some knife protection from slashing attacks. You can also upgrade regular ballistic vests with Stab Resistant Inserts.

Perhaps you could get on a plane wearing one of these soft vests, I don't see why not.

You can purchase and use any type that you want, legally, unless you use it to commit a crime. (see below)

If you are a felon, that is a different story. A felony conviction makes possession of Body Armor illegal under federal law.

Florida law states:
775.0846 Possession of bulletproof vest while committing certain offenses.
(1) As used in this section, the term "bulletproof vest" means a bullet-resistant soft body armor providing, as a minimum standard, the level of protection known as "threat level I," which shall mean at least seven layers of bullet-resistant material providing protection from three shots of 158-grain lead ammunition fired from a .38 caliber handgun at a velocity of 850 feet per second.

(2) No person may possess a bulletproof vest while, acting alone or with one or more other persons, he or she commits or attempts to commit any murder, sexual battery, robbery, burglary, arson, aggravated assault, aggravated battery, kidnapping, escape, breaking and entering with intent to commit a felony, criminal gang-related offense under chapter 874, controlled substance offense under chapter 893, or aircraft piracy and such possession is in the course of and in furtherance of any such crime.

(3) Any person who violates this section commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.

That answers my question for sure. I looked for the article but could not find it again. I saw it on the Daytona Beach New Journal or CFnews13.com but it was last week I think...

"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship.
Alexander Fraser Tytler